A joint operation between city police and the FBI that targeted child sex predators resulted in the arrest of Tom Artiom Alexandrovich, a man who, according to many news outlets, has been identified as a member of Israel’s National Cyber Directorate, which operates out of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office.

The U.S. State Department said on Monday the American government played no role in the release of an Israeli official charged with soliciting sex electronically from a minor.

An Israeli government official was reportedly arrested to face charges of luring children to partake in sex, but was allowed